The present invention relates to a method of treating RGP contact lenses. The method is useful for sterilizing, improving dimensional stability and/or increasing surface wettability of the treated contact lens.
An effective method for improving dimensional stability of RGP contact lens materials, and especially contact lens materials formed of a rigid, gas permeable (RGP) copolymer, involves exposing the material to high energy radiation whereby the amount of excess, unreacted monomer in the material is reduced. U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,383 (Ellis et al.) discloses such a method wherein a polymeric contact lens material is exposed to high energy radiation to reduce the amount of unreacted monomer and improve dimensional stability of the material. The polymeric materials may be provided in the form of rods or buttons, which are subsequently irradiated and cut into contact lenses, or the polymeric material may be polymerized directly in a mold to form contact lenses. The irradiation process is preferably carried out at room temperature in an inert atmosphere.
In addition, various treatment methods have been proposed for increasing surface wettability or modifying surface properties of contact lenses.
Several methods involve grafting or covalently bonding an organic material to the surface of the lens. As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,916,033 (Merrill) discloses a method wherein a contact lens formed of a silicone polymer or copolymer is contacted with a liquid solution including a hydrophilic monomer. The surface is then exposed to ionizing radiation to form a hydrophilic polymer grafted on the lens surface. As a further example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,297 (Valint, Jr.) discloses a method wherein a contact lens is immersed in an aqueous dispersion of a polymerizable surfactant, a crosslinking agent and a free-radical initiator, and then exposed to ultraviolet radiation to form a crosslinked surface coating on the object.
In such surface treatments, the degree and uniformity of the bonding or grafting of the reactive material to the lens surface may be difficult to control. For example, in large-scale production, the coating may vary among individual lenses.